"Are you ready?"
The words had her releasing a breathy laugh, the nerves that had been eating away at her insides for weeks ebbing at his carefree tone.
"I think I should be the one asking you that," Jinora paused in her shuffling, dropping the needles she had been cleaning back on to the white towel laid out on the floor. "After all, you are the one getting permanently inked today."
Kai shrugged, the muscles in his back becoming more defined at the small movement. Though the young girl had seen the bare expanse of his skin before, she couldn't keep the heat from rising in her cheeks. Whether it was from her nerves or her ever-growing affection for the young man in front of her, she did not know – all she knew was that this was the last time she would see it unmarked ever again.
"I trust you, Jin."
The eighteen-year-old could of cried at the undeniable confidence in his tone, but with her hands shaking she couldn't seem to bring herself to do more than release another short laugh.
"No really I do," He tilted his head to the side, the sunlight pouring in from the one window highlighting the dark features of his face. "Tenzin wouldn't have let you do this if you weren't ready."
She bit her lip, busying herself with the needles once again. To be honest, she had been shocked at her own father's trust in her ability. While it did take a bit of begging in order for him to allow her to give Kai his tattoos, it wasn't because he didn't believe she was ready – it was because of the position it would put her and Kai in.
To perform an inking ceremony, the new Air Nation had established that the ritual still needed to be conducted on the sacred ground of one of the past temples. Kai had naturally chosen the Northern Air Temple, the place where he had first started his airbending training – but Tenzin wasn't excited by the fact that the Northern Air Temple was also the farthest one away from Republic City. Just the thought of his daughter completely alone with her boyfriend was enough to send chills up his spine. But after some arguing, he had grudgingly agreed to allow them to make the trip, trusting Jinora to conduct herself in a respectable manner.
Though he hadn't been very happy about the arrangements, Jinora couldn't forget the look of pride he gave her the day they had left. He trusted her, he knew that she could do it.
"I know I'm ready," Kai smiled at the steadiness of her tone, though he frowned when she still refused to meet his tender gaze. "I just never imagined you would be the first person I'd give them to. I didn't expect my father to allow me to perform the ceremony with you."
"You don't have to do it if you don't want," The young man tried to keep the disappointment from coloring his tone, turning his face away from her once more so she couldn't see his crestfallen features. He felt a twinge of guilt for insisting that she be the one to give him his tattoos. What had he been thinking? Of course all he would do was make her nervous.
While he was mentally beating himself up, Jinora sat deep in thought. Though she did want to be the one to give him his arrows, she was fearful that the job she would do wouldn't be adequate. She had been a master since the age of eleven, so it wasn't as though she was feeling like she wasn't ready for the job; it was just him that had her nerves all in a bundle.
"I want to do it," Her quiet voice broke through Kai's mental berating, a genuine smile lighting up her pale features. "I want to be here for you. It's going to be a long process and I would hate to leave you with my father for that long."
"Thanks, Jin," The boy murmured his gratefulness, tilting his head to gaze into her features once more before they would begin. He earned a toothy grin in return, still tinged with anxiety, but much brighter than before.
The sunlight drifted across the room, signaling that time was moving all too fast and that they needed to start. Jinora waited patiently as Kai sat in the lotus position and tried desperately to separate himself from the situation. Minutes passed, but the wrinkle of concentration between his brows never faded.
The girl waited, quiet as she watched his facial expression to give her the signal to begin. When she had gotten her arrows, it had taken no time at all for her to find peace in meditation. She couldn't even remember the sting of the needles as her father inked away at her skin. If the agonizing soreness she had experienced after was any indication though of how painful the process would have been, she was deeply grateful for the choice of meditation.
But Kai wasn't like her.
"This is harder than I thought it would be," The boy murmured honestly, only to be shushed by his girlfriend.
"No talking," She spoke with authority, going into full master mode. "You need to concentrate."
"I'm trying!" Kai insisted, the crease of his brow becoming more pronounced as he mentally tried to force himself to detach from his body.
They sat quietly for another hour, Jinora joining Kai in his quest for meditation, crossing her own legs to mimic his position and closing her eyes to calm the nerves that were still present in her stomach.
"I don't think I can do it," Kai mumbled, defeated after two hours of trying his best to separate himself from the world. He was too nervous. There was no way he was going to be able to go through with it.
"You're a master now, Kai," His girlfriend reminded him, her eyes still closed. "I know you can do it."
"I'm being serious, Jin," His voice cracked at her name, his tone causing the girl to blink up at him in concern. "I've never been good at meditation before. Now that I know I have to do it, there's no way I'm going to be able to," His green gaze looked steadily into her own. "Maybe we should just start without it."
Jinora's mouth popped open at the suggestion, her mind racing a she tried to form a coherent response. "What?! Kai do you know how painful tattoos are? When I woke up from getting my arrows, I couldn't move for days they hurt so badly! Surely, you aren't expecting me to ink you while you're completely conscious?"
"I'm not scared of needles," Though the words were said in defense, they came out sounding more hesitant than he had wanted them to. "I don't need meditation. Like you said, I'm a master now. I can take any pain needed to fulfill my duty as a part of the new Air Nation."
Jinora's dark brows rose, causing the arrow of her forehead to wrinkle. "But you shouldn't have to endure it in that way. Your arrows follow your chi paths, which are some of the most sensitive parts of the body, there's always the risk that I could strike a nerve causing – "
"Stop," Not wanting her to say anything that would make him change his mind, the boy flashed her his bare back - hiding her from view. "I know how tattoos work, Jinora." He mumbled, eyes glued to the landscape of the temple outside the window. "I don't need a rundown."
"I don't want to hurt you."
The genuine tenderness in her tone nearly brought tears to his eyes. "You won't. I'll be fine. You're going to do great."
"But I – "
"I trust you, Jin," He told her honestly. Though his hands shook, he couldn't deny the truth behind the words. "More than anyone else."
She was silent for a moment. Finally, he heard her begin to shuffle the needles around, the metal scraping against the side of the wooden bowl as she inserted them into the ink. He could hear the gentle shift of her robes as she took her spot behind him, her pale hands reaching out to smooth down the length of his spine. He couldn't hold back the shiver it provoked, her words of sensitivity coming to mind as his nerves stood on end from her gentle touch.
"I'll do your back first," Her breath tickled against his ear as she leaned forward to trace under the hairline at his neck. "We'll take a break and I'll shave your head for you so we can do the neck and forehead next."
Kai released a breath, trying desperately to keep himself from shaking. He nodded in affirmation at her plan, worried if he spoke – his voice may give away how nervous he was.
He wasn't the only one with a serious case of nerves though.
As Jinora reached down for one of the needles, she mentally prepared herself for what she was about to do. She had to go back to master mode; she couldn't allow her emotions compromise this tradition. Though the thought of causing Kai pain made her want to cry, she knew that if her father were here he would be able to do it. If he could do it, so could she. They were equals.
At the first prick of a needle, Kai sucked in his breath. It didn't hurt as bad as he expected, but it did cause him to clench his eyes shut. After a few more pricks, his back was tensed in pain.
"Don't tense up," Jinora murmured, her free hand coming up to stroke the tanned skin of his shoulder that was nearly touching his ear at this point. "Needles hurt worse when you are tight as opposed to when you are relaxed."
The young man released a puff of breath in acknowledgement, not trusting his words at the moment as he attempted to relax his shoulders.
The moment she started to prick him with the needle again, they perked up – but her hand never left its spot on his shoulder.
It was dark by the time she came to a stopping point. Using a towel to gently mop up the droplets of blood that littered his skin, she leaned back to admire her work. She had only managed to cover half of his spine, but so far the line was straight – something she had been concerned about messing up.
Her hand was cramping, but she felt as though she could complete her job on his back. The only thing stopping her from doing so though was the shake of Kai's shoulders as he cried silent tears.
No matter how many times she had told him to try and meditate, the boy could not free himself from the world. He hadn't started crying until sunset, when she reached the upper part of his back – but since than he hadn't been able to stop the tears.
"Do you want me to start shaving your head?"
Kai gave her a slight nod, the streaks lining his cheeks visible in the pale light of the moon. The sight caused Jinora's heart to clench, but she went to retrieve the razor from her bag anyway.
Taking a seat in front of him, Jinora wasn't surprised when he refused to meet her gaze. Bowing his head, eyes focused on the tile floor, Kai presented her with the top of his head so she could begin.
A pair of hands grasped his cheeks gently, pulling his face up so that he would be forced to meet her eyes. Using her thumbs to rub at the tears that still stained his skin, Jinora leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips.
"You did good," Her voice was honest, her eyes wide as they stared up into his. "I don't think I could've endured what you did today."
The boy huffed, the idea of her not being able to do something completely ridiculous to him. "You can do everything, Jin," His voice was hoarse, words laced with shame. "I'm sure you could do it without crying."
Jinora rolled her eyes at his dramatics, pressing her thumb harshly against his skin to get his gaze to settle back on her. "Kai, I cried for nearly two days straight after I got my arrows. I would have been a wreck if I had to have gotten them while conscious."
"I don't think so."
"Than you have way too much faith in me," She inched closer, her knees knocking against his own. "Like I said, I could not have done what you did today. I'm really proud of you."
Kai didn't respond to her words, turning his face away from her. He was trying to fix his gaze on the wall, when suddenly the girl caught his attention. Crawling into his lap as though it was something as normal between them as conversation, Jinora straddled his hips and turned his face forward.
"Jinora!" He didn't mean to shout, but her actions had taken him by surprise. His cheeks burned as he thought about what would happen if Tenzin were to see them in this position. Kai would be killed four times over before he could sputter out an explanation.
But Tenzin wasn't here and Jinora seemed to be perfectly aware of that as she wrapped her arms around his neck, careful to keep the razor she had retrieved a safe distance from his skin.
"What?" She asked nonchalantly, as though they weren't in a very compromising position. "I was going to shave your head, right?"
Kai's mouth opened, but no words bubbled to the surface. Closing it tightly once again, he gave her a shrug – pain running up the length of his back where there was now pale blue ink embedded in the skin.
Holding back tears of pain, he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, pulling her closer to him so that their noses were almost touching. If he was going to have to suffer through pain and shave his head, he might as well enjoy the alone time he got with her while having to endure it. The tears from earlier forgotten, Kai rubbed his nose affectionately against her own.
Jinora gave him a reassuring smile, knowing that he was trying to hide the pain that was radiating from his back. Kissing the tip of his nose gently, she reached up to ruffle his dark locks affectionately.
"I'm going to miss your hair," Letting her fingers run over his scalp, the girl relished in the feeling of it against her skin. "Are you sure you want me to shave all of it off?"
He nodded, his nose scrunching when another pain shot up his spine. "Yeah," He whispered after a moment, his voice low. "Remember our deal? I promised I would shave off all mine if you did your's."
"We were eleven, Kai," She insisted, though a blush rose in her cheeks. She couldn't believe he remembered that silly promise he had made her before she had gotten her own arrows, when she had been so nervous about shaving her head that she could barely eat for weeks. While it hadn't been as bad as she expected, she didn't want him to do anything that was going to make him more uncomfortable at the moment. "It's okay if you don't want to go through with it."
"It's tradition. I want to follow tradition."
Jinora sighed, but knew better than to argue with him when he had his mind set on something.
She started at the front of his head, drawing the razor back and letting the hairs fall between them. Every once and while, a few strands would fall into his eyes or on to his nose, causing her to blow on them gently so they wouldn't irritate his skin. Every time she did so, she would have to hide the smile that appeared as his cheeks turned red at the gesture.
After a good hour of running the razor over his skin, the boy before her was finally bald – just like she had been.
"You look good," She assured him, noting the worried look he had in his eyes as she set the razor down. "I promise you it's not as bad as it feels."
"I don't think I want to look at it."
"That's fine," Sliding herself off his lap and picking up the razor she had deposited on the floor, Jinora walked behind him to see if his back was in better shape than it was before.
There was still some blood, the sticky liquid quickly taken care of by the swipe of a towel before Jinora left to retrieve the bandages her mother had soaked in ointment before they had left on their journey.
"I had to let the skin breathe for awhile," She remarked as she walked back into the room, noting his suspicious gaze as she unwrapped the medicated tape that would go around his torso. "I couldn't put it on after I had made the mark or else you would have bled all over it."
Too tired to argue with that logic, Kai was coaxed up from his sitting position – the movement causing a hiss of pain to slide from his lips. He couldn't cry though, he was too tired to.
Working quickly, Jinora wrapped the bandages around his muscled upper half. When she had finished, she tied a tight knot beneath his armpit so they wouldn't slide off during the night.
"Tomorrow I'm going to have to finish the lower half," Jinora's eyes rested on his lower back, a sigh escaping her lips as she thought about the long and painful process that was still in front of them. "I didn't realize we had started so late or else I just would have waited to begin until tomorrow. I hate that you're going to have to endure this pain longer than necessary."
The man shrugged, turning around to face her. "It's okay," He reached out for her, pulling her close to his chest as he buried his nose in her hair. "It's my fault for not being 'spiritual' enough to meditate."
"I guess that's true," The words prompted a soft laugh from Kai, the sound muffled by her hair.
"Well," He pulled away from her then, wincing at the pain that shot up his back at the action, "If we want to start early tomorrow, we better get some rest. It's probably nearly midnight."
Jinora nodded at his suggestion, the two of them holding hands as they exited the room for the first time that day. When they reached the hall that led to a couple sets of furnished bedrooms, Jinora leaned up – expecting to get a goodnight kiss before she had to leave for her room. But Kai ignored her puckered lips and opened the door to his room, pulling her in along with him.
"What are – " Jinora sputtered, surprised by his actions as he continued to pull her over to the double bed that lay in the corner of the room. "Kai, why did you – "
"Tenzin's not here to oppose such an idea," He turned to her, flashing a toothy grin that caused her cheeks to redden, "I just thought it would be nice to have someone to talk to until I fall asleep. My back is killing me."
Jinora was about to protest, but stopped herself from doing so. After all, he was right. Tenzin couldn't oppose such an idea, especially when he was not aware of it.
"Okay," She murmured unsurely after a moment, the blood rising to her cheeks once again as her gaze fell to the floor. "Just let me get my stuff from my room."
A few minutes later, after both had changed into a pair of pajamas – Kai only wearing sleeping pants as to not disturb the bandages – they snuggled down into the sturdy mattress. At first their was some awkward shifting, both trying to get comfortable with this new facet of their relationship, but eventually they found a position that was suitable for them.
Jinora lay behind her boyfriend, tattooed arms wrapped loosely around his torso as to not cause him pain. She rested her cheek against the soft skin of his shoulder, releasing a sigh as she allowed herself to relax after the stressful day.
"Thank you, Jin," Her eyes opened at his gentle words, lifting to meet his gaze as he tilted his head back to look at her. "I know you were nervous, but I think you did a spectacular job."
Her dark eyes rolled at the comment. "You haven't even seen it yet, how would you know?"
"I just do," He murmured, turning his head to give her a soft kiss on the forehead. "I love you."
The girl smiled, nuzzling her nose into his shoulder before kissing it gently in return.
"I love you, too."
Not my best, due partly to the fact that I wrote this over the course of two weeks. I usually will write something in a day and then publish it, but the muse just wasn't coming on this one. Thankfully, I was able to finish it but eh, it was a battle. I have only written kainora once before so I'm still getting used to their dynamic.
Disclaimer: I don't own "The Legend of Korra" or it's characters.